No. 7 UCSB to Face No. 6 Long Beach State in Final Regular Season Contest

Keeping up with the GauchosAs the final week of Mountain Pacific Sports Federation action approaches, No. 7 UC Santa Barbara (15-9, 1-6) aims to conclude its regular season play with a victory over No. 6 Long Beach State (21-7, 3-4). After dropping last weekend's contests against then-ranked No. 7 Pacific and No. 4 California, UCSB seeks to tally another conference win to secure a position in the MPSF Championships (Nov. 23-25). This Saturday's game will be held at Campus Pool, beginning at noon.

A Final FarewellNot only does this weekend's matchup mark the conclusion of the Gauchos' regular season, it also celebrates the conclusion of goalkeeper, Myles Christian and utility, Brian Shoemaker's collegiate careers with UCSB. Though the squad will continue their post-season play at the MPSF Championships (Nov. 23-25), the seniors will say their final farewells to Campus Pool - which has been home of the senior standouts since 2008.

Throughout his career, Gauchos fans and opponents alike have been able to witness the flourishing of Christian. As a dominant force in the cage, to date, the senior has appeared in 61.5 games - posting 46 starts for UCSB. With the addition of a new single-season best 203 saves, Christian has compiled a total of 572 career saves. Continuing a senior year of "bests," he also recorded a season and career-high 19 saves against UC Irvine (Oct. 21). Leading the team for the past two years, Christian has tallied 86 career steals to date, amidst a team and individual-best 40 steals on the 2012 season. Undoubtedly, the goalkeeper has proven to be one of the Gauchos' most prolific players of recent program history. Christian's stellar senior campaign catapults him into the fifth position in UCSB's record book of all-time career save leaders and 11th amongst single-season save leaders.

As a utility player, Shoemaker has put forth some of the Gauchos' best offensive statistics throughout his career at UCSB. Shoemaker is not only an impact player in the pool, earning ACWPC All-American and All-MPSF Honorable Mention accolades, but is also a diligent student in the classroom - garnering Academic All-MPSF nods in each competition year to date. A four year starter, the senior captain has played in 98 games for the Gauchos. A consistent offensive threat, Shoemaker has scored in 14 of UCSB's 24 games, four multiple scoring performances, tallying 20 goals on the season - bringing his current career total to 82 career goals. Amongst top performers nearly every season, throughout his career Shoemaker has been the season-leader in steals (2009), field blocks (2009), and earned penalties or ejections (2011).

Champions en RouteCurrently ranked eighth in the MPSF, the Gauchos will move forward into the MPSF Championships held at USC next Friday through Sunday (Nov. 23-25). With rousing rematches ahead, UCSB will have the chance to regain momentum as they compete for the MPSF tournament title. Following the conference tournament, the Gauchos are slated to vie for a national title at the NCAA Championships, also held at USC (Dec. 1-2).

Tickets for home men's water polo games are available by visiting the Ticket Office in the Intercollegiate Athletics Building on campus, by calling (805) 893-UCSB or by clicking here.